Eldritch by. Keri Lake | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Eldritch (The Eating Woods, #2)

Author: Keri Lake

Format: ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 766

Publication Date: 9/9/25

Categories: Dark Romance, Dark Fantasy, Horror

In the grimly captivating sequel to Anathema, Maevyth and Zevander must navigate the perilous mortal lands to deliver Zevander from the clutches of an ancient, malevolent power that threatens to shatter both worlds.
An eldritch magic has awakened, turning the mortal world darker. Colder. Famished. With flesh-eating monsters and a sinister curse spreading like a plague, the last glimmer of humanity in Foxglove Parish has long-since faded.

For Maevyth and Zevander, the only chance of escape is through The Eating Woods. But fate has woven a new web, tangling the threads of destiny, and crossing the mystical boundary to Aethyria might not be so simple.

As the bones of Maevyth’s past are unearthed, and truths unravel with unsettling clarity, the possibility of never leaving Mortasia is becoming more of a reality. Unfortunately for Zevander, time is running out. The longer he stays in the mortal lands, deprived of essential vivicantem, the more he succumbs to the encroaching specter of madness.

Or maybe those chasing shadows are someone hunting him. A wretched evil closing in, threatening to pull him into the darkest corners of his mind.

Only, this time, Maevyth may not have the power to save him.

Eldritch is a full-length, gothic dark fantasy, the second book in The Eating Woods trilogy. Perfect for readers who enjoy a character-driven and atmospheric story with a unique magic system, a slow-burn romance and a touch of horror.

Content Warning: violence, physical-emotional-sexual abuse, slavery, torture, death, trauma

+ Anathema was the first book I read from this author and I gave it a 3.5 rating because as much as I loved the slow burn romance, it was too long of a book and a little too dark for me. I wanted to read this sequel though because I am invested in Maevyth and Zevander’s beautiful and tragic romance.

+ The atmosphere in Eldritch is continued from Anathema. It’s dark, it’s mysterious and filled with worshipping Gods, people in fear of magic and witches, a portal to a different world, scary creatures and the spiders! Ugh, the spiders are something. The story is told in two timelines, past and present and focuses mostly on Zevander’s past. There is also a different place he goes to, Caligorya – a place in his mind that he can go to escape the torture and abuses happening to him under General Loyce.

+ This is Zevander’s story and though we get hints of what happened to him while reading Anathema – in Eldritch, we see his past in full light and the torture he’s been put through by General Loyce. It’s heavy and dark and at times, my heart just broke for him. All this history fleshes him out more as a character and we get to see him in all his complicated, broken self.

+ Maevyth grows as a character in Eldritch. She is still compassionate but this time she needs to learn to fight because people she love are in grave danger. We get to see her love for her family very strongly in this one. And when it comes to Zevander, she is beautifully patient and kind to him.

+ My favorite thing about this whole story is the romance and it’s why I read Eldritch. Their love is so beautiful even though they are both broke, Zevander being the most broken of the two of them. But Maevyth is steadfast, strong and the perfect partner for him.

+ I liked the second half when there are more characters added to Maevyth and Zevander’s group – there was actually humor from Aleysia and I appreciated that a lot!

~ This book is 766 pages long. It is too long again, longer even than the first book. I love Kazhimyr and his side quest but I think having his POV chapters were unnecessary unless he plays a big part in book three. I found myself skimming some of his chapters because I wanted to get back to Zevander and Maevyth.

~ The story only really moves forward in the last part of the book, so most of the book is Zevander’s history. And the slow burn love story was beautiful but I did wish they kind of got right to working things out between them in the beginning. It takes a few chapters for them to address their sexual relationship and I know it’s because Zevander respected her wishes, but Aleysia was knocked out and healing so I think there was time for them there to move things along in their relationship.

~ There is another cliffhanger in this story.

Final Thoughts:

I think this is a solid sequel to Anathem with all the same dark elements, if not more. I was mostly in it for the romance between Zevander and Maevyth and that didn’t disappoint. I do think the book is too long with most of the story moving quicker in the second half. This sequel is mostly about getting to know Zevander and I think the story did the job. I’d like to read book three but also hope it’s not a long book again.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Anathema by. Keri Lake | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What Fury Brings by. Tricia Levenseller | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Title: What Fury Brings (Wrath and Fury, #1)

Author: Tricia Levenseller

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 9/23/25

Publisher: FEIWEL

Categories: Fantasy, Dark Romance, Revenge Fantasy

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to FEIWEL for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

There’s a shortage of men in the kingdom of Amarra. After a failed rebellion against the matriarchy, most noblemen in the country are dead. Now the women of Amarra must obtain their husbands (should they want one) by kidnapping them from other kingdoms.

Olerra, a warrior princess vying for the throne, is determined to prove her worth by kidnapping a husband. And not just any husband. To outmaneuver her treacherous cousin, she needs the best. Fortunately, the second-born prince of their greatest enemy is widely known for both his looks and his sweet, docile temperament. He’s the perfect choice to secure her claim to the throne.

Sanos, heir to the Kingdom of Brutus, has nothing but contempt for the idea of a society run by women. Trained from birth to fight, lead, and follow in his father’s overbearing footsteps, his path has always been set. Until he takes his younger brother’s place in a drunken prank and finds himself kidnapped, carted off to the Amarran Palace, and informed that he is to become the husband of Queen Potential Olerra. Sanos needs to escape before anyone learns his real identity, but the more he gets to know his captor, the less sure he is of what he truly wants.

Content Warning: violence, physical abuse, mentions of sexual assault, kidnapping, dubious consent, auctioning/selling men/children, mentions of grooming and underage sexual partners, animal death, penis guillotine

+ I went into this arc, seeing the reviews for it online being very polarizing. People either love it or hate it and it made me very curious as to why. The world building is different – especially for a romantasy. We hear romantasy and think certain tropes, but this is most definitely a reversal of the gender roles and this is a dark romantasy. Olerra is from the kingdom of Amarra where the women are in power. And I don’t mean they just are the rulers of this place, oh no, they housebreak their men – yes, that’s what the call it. Men are the subordinate, they are the househusband, they are used for breeding, they are punished if out of line, they are the whores, and they are the ones being bought. Personally, I thought it was very eye opening and I wanted to see how this story played out.

+ Olerra, as a character, she’s powerful. She fights with men, wins against them, she’s a commander of the military, she’s a big woman and she’s ambitious. I kind of got a kick out of her husband-hunting/kidnapping and being the one to save him in the end. Is she perfect? No. Because she does punish Sanos, put him on display, plays on his lust for her – but this is a role reversal, this is how Olerra has been raised. Readers of dark romance have seen similar scenarios take place in the traditional roles of men and women. The man doing the kidnapping, displaying the woman, etc…so it was really fascinating to see Olerra do all of this to Sanos, who is not a weak man himself. He’s a warrior and fighter just like her, and she emasculates him so she can be viewed as powerful among her people.

+ I like how this book bent my brain because I’m so used to the usual gender roles in all the romantasy I read – and I read a LOT of them. So this book was so good at challenging my thoughts on what I’m used to reading, things I just readily accept about female and male characters. I thought Amarra being a mirror to the Brutes was interesting. The society in Amarra is the result of men doing what they do to women – but instead of flourishing as an open society (which they do – they accept different sexualities), they treat the men as women have been treated. They treat criminals like an eye for an eye – male rapists get their privates removed. The women don’t seem to have evolved but are carrying out revenge. Instead of Amarra’s women taking the high road and saying, this won’t happen here – they do it full force, exactly what’s been done to them, because that’s “what fury brings“. But not going to lie, I was kind of scared for these men!

+~ There is spicy scenes and one that includes bondage. So it’s spicy but might also make some readers uncomfortable because of dubious consent.

~ This is marketed as a romantasy but I felt like the romance was under-developed. It’s enemies to lovers, clearly – the enemies being very obvious, Sanos has been kidnapped and is being forced to marry Olerra. It’s definitely Stockholm Syndrome but again…I’ve read this in regular romance and didn’t mind it. He eventually has feelings for her but I felt like it was all lust. Would have loved to see some tender moments between them, that shows that feelings, more than lust, were growing.

~ Please heed the trigger warnings – this is a dark romance. Stockholm syndrome anyone? There are mentions of grooming, buying young boys and it’s gross and uncomfortable.

~ I kind of wanted to see at the end how Olerra and Sanos would rule Amarra and Brutish because they both win their crowns so would book two show progress as Sanos points out things Olerra can change in Amarra and vice versa? I’m very curious! I did feel Olerra did exactly say all the things she would change as Queen, she mentioned not being as cruel as her cousin. But that doesn’t mean much. Would also like to see Sanos change some things in Brute.

Final Thoughts:

This is a dark romance fantasy where the gender roles have swapped in Amarra and women in take their revenge on men. I like that it was like holding up a mirror to how men treat women but it doesn’t mean what they are doing in Amarra is right. Men sell young women in many dark books – well the Amarran women sell young boys in this book. It’s ugly, but I think that is the point of the mirror. Men do it…but women could do it too. Sanos basically falls for his kidnapper – but we’re not new to stories like this, are we? Nope. Just new to who does the kidnapping and who is doling out punishment in this book. Either way, it’s wrong to live like this or behave this way and I think that’s what I got out of this story. Now there were many uncomfortable moments in this story but I also found it a quick read and there were even some funny moments. So I think you have to read this one at your own risk, read some reviews on this one, and definitely check out the trigger list before going into it. Overall, I found it a fascinating read but did want more out of the romance and maybe see both main characters commit to doing more to change how their kingdoms treat people.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From this Author:

The Darkness Within Us by. Tricia Levenseller | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blade of Secrets by. Tricia Levenseller | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Shadows Between Us | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daughter of the Pirate King – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daughter of the Siren King – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Warrior of the Wild – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Endless Anger by. Sav R. Miller | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Title: Endless Anger (Monsters Within, #1)

Author: Sav R. Miller

Format: ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 452

Publication Date: 8/19/25

Categories: New Adult, Dark Romance, Dark Academia, Childhood Friends to Lovers

Sometimes the pomegranate doesn’t fall far from the tree…

Asher Anderson is angry―at the world, at himself, at the way his best friend Lucy Wolfe seems determined to tune out this buzzing connection between them. He doesn’t mean to solve all his problems with violence, but maybe he has too much of his father in him. That’s why the faculty at Avernia College hates him, right? Because of the “evil” blood in his veins?

He should know better than to darken the old, ivy-covered university’s door, but it’s practically a law of the universe: wherever Lucy goes, Asher follows. Even if that means entering a twisting labyrinth of secret societies, human sacrifices, and a very personal history soaked in blood.

Lucy is used to being an outcast. She’s even used to Asher being her dark, brooding shadow. What she isn’t used to is him shattering her resolve by taking her up against library bookshelves as she desperately pretends her heart hasn’t always been his. She should know better than to play with fire, but with unexplained deaths and pointed threats ripping apart the university’s fabric, Asher and Lucy soon find themselves at the center of the turmoil…where they’ll have to confront their feelings or die trying.

Content Warning: violence, death, sexual assault, torture

+ I think the book started off strong and intriguing. Asher is in love with Lucy and I love how they knew each other since kids. He’s protective of her and they know the best and worst of each other. There’s a lot of no communication between them which was a bit frustrating, lots of angst but everyone knows they want each other and basically waiting for them to get together.

+ Their parents all know each other and I also liked the other characters in their friend/family group like Foxe and Aurora. Overall, I could tell this was a tight knit group.

+ If you want smut, it’s there but it comes in the second half of this book. So it’s a bit of a slow burn until then, but it is spicy! There is a lot of pent up longing and desire between these two.

+~ The premise of this one caught my eye and I saw it on booktok. I do wish I knew that this was a spinoff because I could tell while reading this I was missing something that regarded the parents of these kids in the book.

~ I was lost. Probably because I didn’t read the previous series that came before this book. I was missing the connection between the parents who all know one another. I didn’t know what was up with this college and what was so bad about it, even though everyone kept saying it was bad. It took so long for the story about the “bad things” at the college to develop. Like what was this curse? While the relationship between Lucy and Asher kept me invested, the plot was lacking and made me lose interest.

~ Book was too long for a story where not a lot was explained or happening.

Final Thoughts:

Read the series, Monsters & Muses before reading this book or else you might be as lost as I was. My favorite thing about this story was the childhood romance between Lucy and Asher – it’s full of longing and desire but also my least favorite trope -no communication, which was their only downfall really but still frustrating. There’s a lot of spice between them once they cave into their feelings for one another. The rest of the story has potential but I just needed more. Overall, just an okay read for me.